The present invention relates to a glass carafe or pitcher with a plastic lid for a coffee or tea maker whose filter vessel has a mechanical outlet lock which is actuated by a release member on the plastic lid of the carafe.
Coffee or tea makers frequently have a filter vessel which has a mechanically actuatable outlet lock, which is generally also called a drip lock. A release member or release mushroom attached to the plastic lid of the glass pitcher or carafe acts as the control member for actuating the outlet lock. The release member moves the outlet lock into its open position by pressing against it. Thus, as long as the glass carafe is disposed at a certain location below the filter vessel, the release mushroom keeps the outlet lock open and coffee or tea flows therethrough into the glass pitcher. As soon as the carafe and the plastic lid are removed from their normal position in the coffee or tea maker the outlet lock moves into its closed position, because the release mushroom is no longer keeping the outlet lock open.
In this way when the carafe is taken out from underneath the not yet completely empty filter vessel, the beverage is prevented from flowing out in an uncontrolled manner. Thus, coffee or tea cannot drip onto the warming tray usually disposed below the filter vessel and serving as a depository for the glass pitcher.
A prerequisite for the effective interaction of the outlet lock and the release mushroom is that the release mushroom have an accurately defined height position with respect to the placement plane of the glass carafe. In other words, given that the filter vessel and locking member are at a fixed distance from the warming tray, any glass carafe with a release mushroom must be accurately manufactured so that the release member is accurately positioned for precisely actuating the locking member when the glass carafe is put on the warming tray.
However, prior art glass pitchers having plastic lids are unsatisfactory because the plastic lid and its release mushroom are made as one piece. Although the plastic lid can be manufactured to close tolerances, the glass carafe cannot be made to close tolerances, whereby considerable deviations in the position of the release mushroom with respect to the placement plane of the carafe result.